Anno 117's Pax Romana's Best-Kept Secret Is a Stunning First-Person View.

Surprisingly — did you realize it's possible to experience the game Anno 117 from a first-person viewpoint? Should that be your response, you’re just as shocked compared to my initial response the moment I learned this hidden feature. Allow me to briefly leave my empire’s management, leave it in a capable deputy, commandere a carriage, and enjoy a ride through Ancient Rome.

Unlocking the First-Person View

In its role as a city-builder, Anno 117: Pax Romana is typically played from a bird's-eye view. However, if you input a hidden code — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on a keyboard or “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on a controller — it becomes possible to roam the realm as a regular inhabitant. Since a similar easter egg was included in the earlier game Anno 1800, I was eager to experience it in Ubisoft's newest game, though I was uncertain it would function prior to being submerged in a structural glitch (possibly an unexpected bug — this feature tends to be somewhat unstable occasionally).

Exploring the Roman Cityscape

Once I crawled out, I walked the bustling streets across my settlement and toured shops, taverns, blossom gardens, and cockle pickers — it was glorious to witness the fruits of my labor using an entirely new viewpoint. I detected a variety of intricacies I wouldn’t have spotted from above: Doorway embellishments, a beast of burden holding a blossom container, chickens running loose, folks chilling on their balconies… Simply noticing the form of a ledge and the paint layers on a column proves fascinating to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.

Beyond Simple Strolling

However, there's additional content to the first-person feature in Anno 117 beyond simply walking the paths. I became extraordinarily excited upon discovering that not only could I view crop lands, but also enter them. And despite my expectation interiors would be restricted, I was able to enter earthen quarries, investigate a respected schoolhouse while lessons were in session, and even trespass into people’s gardens. Avoid attempting to open doors (not even the creators allocated resources for that), however, you can definitely stroll around a barley farm, observe people digging and transporting bags, and look within any modest shelter provided the entrance is missing.

Graphics and Ambiance

Although I was fully prepared to observe my settlement depicted using primitive rendering, apart from certain rough movements and sometimes citizens positioned within a bench instead of on a bench, the immersive perspective seems far superior to anticipations. The intricately designed surfaces (particularly rock faces) really have no business being this good within a game that's fundamentally a city-builder. You won't necessarily notice separate follicular elements, yet you will notice writings on surfaces, flames emitting from lights, brick decoloration, eye details, and pine tree leaves. Nighttime, with its flickering fires and stars shining in the distance, generates a uniquely immersive environment, and feels much less frightening relative to the previous game, given that the populace appears unlike sleep paralysis demons anymore.

Testing and Personalization

Given the covert first-person feature lacks official documentation, I opted to try different commands, and quickly discovered the abilities to leap, run, and changing perspective — the zoom function permitting me to alternate between immersive and external perspectives and back. I then decided to hit various digit inputs and discovered that I could change my character’s appearance. Amber garment? Crimson attire? Blue and purple toga? Or — maybe superior — complete battle gear? You can wield a blade and protection, or, preferably, wear an archer's uniform; if you hit the interaction button, you launch incendiary bolts heavenward. Should you be curious, harming inhabitants is impossible (though I didn't test this, obviously).

Amusement and Inhabitant Dialogues

But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, since they're incredibly amusing. Moments after I entered the first-person view, I heard a parent advising their offspring that he “Can’t have a pet fox and if you feed it one more chicken, your gran will have your head.” Rightly so, Roman dad. A pleasant regional Celt then began complimenting my brilliant Romano-Celtic policies by calling it the “Best of both worlds,” while some cranky old lady opted to menace me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”

The Thrill of Transportation

Just as I assumed I had found everything available within the game's immersive perspective, I experienced the pleasure of driving in Ancient Rome. Entirely by accident, I interacted with a cart and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Oxen, donkeys, even human-pulled carts; you can control each one as desired. The donkey-powered transport, notably, moves quite quickly, but don't anticipate open-world vehicular chaos — you can’t drive into people or other wagons (again, not saying I’ve tried).

Fighting Restrictions

The only thing that disappointed me in Anno 117’s first-person mode was finding out I couldn’t partake in combat situations. Sporting my soldier fit, I charged toward adversaries during active combat and endeavored to damage them, but was entirely disregarded. The front-row seat was nonetheless magnificent, and observing foes flee, their arms flailing about, proved very satisfying, yet it would have been exciting to actually hit something using my fiery projectiles.

{Conclusion: More to Discover|Final Thoughts: Additional Exploration